What has changed in EU labor law?

Thanks to the adoption of the new EU directive, employees have received more rights. These changes will expand the opportunities for hired personnel, but may cause opposition from employers. Let's find out what changes in labor law have come into effect from our article.

The right to combine

Currently, most employment contracts contain a clause on the prohibition of part-time employment, that is, the employee is prohibited from working for other employers. Employers should remove or change these items. If the clauses of the contracts remain, then in the event of labor disputes they will not be taken into account. Under new employment contracts, part-time employment may also be prohibited, but good reasons must be indicated for this: a conflict of interest (part-time job with competitors), a risk to the health of the employee, violation of the requirements of the Working Time Law, etc.

The right to a permanent contract and a regular work schedule

The legislation of the Netherlands already allows to require the conclusion of a permanent employment contract after a certain period of work under a temporary contract. However, the EU directive more strictly obliged employers to respond to such requests from employees. Now, if an employee's application is not answered within 1 month, it is considered to be satisfied automatically. 

In addition, it became possible to submit a similar request for the establishment of a normalized work schedule. Some contracts oblige the employee to work a certain number of hours, but the specific time is reported at the time of the need. As a result, the employee needs to be constantly ready to start work. This is inconvenient, because the employee may ask him to set a specific work schedule for him. The employer has the right to refuse, but he is obliged to justify such a decision with good reasons.

Free training at the expense of the employer

Many jobs require employee training. Previously, employers included in the contract a clause according to which the employee was obliged to reimburse these expenses if he left earlier than the established time. Now, if training is necessary to fulfill the tasks set by the employer, it will not work to recover money for it. Moreover: according to the new directive, the hours spent by the employee for such training must be paid to him. 

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